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Raise Your Glass
"Raise Your Glass" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter P!nk, released as the lead single of her first compilation album, Greatest Hits... So Far!!!. The song celebrates the first decade since P!nk's debut in 2000 and is dedicated to her fans who have been supporting her over the years. The song was released in October 2010, to gain both critical and commercial success, being appreciated by most music critics and described as a party anthem, and reaching the Top 10 in several countries, including the United States, where it reached #1, and ultimately became Pink's second solo number one hit, following 2008's "So What", and her third overall. It was followed by another hugely successful single, "F**kin' Perfect", from the same album. Background "Raise Your Glass" was announced as the lead single from P!nk's then-upcoming greatest hits compilation on October 1, 2010.The song follows a strong pop/rock style, in much similar fashion to her previous work with producer Max Martin. P!nk describes the song as a "celebration for people who feel left out from the popular crowd." In an interview for MTV, P!nk comments on the song: "I don't know if it's going to be huge, but it is new. I did three new songs. It was good timing. I had been on the road for two years and I hadn't written anything and I wanted to write a song about underdogs. Instead of going and becoming a cover girl, I kind of just hit the road and pounded the pavement...and became a touring artist. You don't have to be popular when you're a touring artist, you just have to be good, and this is a thank you for the fans." Critical reception The song received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Bill Lamb from About.com rated the song with 4/5 stars, enjoying "the instant connection to her audience," "the anthemic celebration of personal uniqueness," and the "rousing, catchy chorus." He concluded the review, saying that "'Raise Your Glass' is a mainstream pop anthem that sounds durable. This song could soundtrack a wide range of films or TV as well as real life parties and events. If you need a record to celebrate personal uniqueness, you don't need to turn anywhere else. P!nk is your artist, and 'Raise Your Glass' is your song." Nick Levine from Digital Spy was largely positive with the song, giving it 5/5 stars and describing it as "a full-throttle pop/rock stomper with a chorus as subtle as a porn star's cleavage, some classic P!nk ad-libs and the best so-dumb-it's-genius couplet of the year: 'Don't be fancy / Just get dancey'... after ten years of sterling service to all things pop, the (pink) champagne's on us." Becky Bain from Idolator said that "P!nk lifts her glass to toast all the 'dirty little freaks' in her new party track." Fraser McAlpine from BBC blog rated it 4/5 stars, saying that "it has to SOUND like wild and crazy fun. It should probably rock, or at least claim to rock. There must be a big celebratory chorus, something which brings everyone together in a glorious celebration of Brand P!nk. There should be a few silly one-liners, rampant abuse of the English language, a few extravagant claims, a strutting self-regard mixed with a giggling self-depreciation, a sneer and a smile." Chart performance In the United States "Raise Your Glass" recharged P!nk's chart performance, becoming her tenth Top 10 hit and her second solo number one hit. It put Pink third on the list of female artists with most Top 10 hits in the 2000s, behind Rihanna, who has collected 18 Top 10 hits since 2005 and Beyoncé, with 14. It took the song eight weeks to hit the Hot 100's apex, where it stayed for a single week. "Raise Your Glass" has also become P!nk's fifth number one on Adult Pop Songs, giving her the most number ones on the chart of a female artist, and putting her in a tie with the band Nickelback for the most number ones on the chart out of all artists; in 2011, Katy Perry achieved her sixth no.1 in the chart, placing P!nk and Nickelback at number two as artists with the most number ones. As of May 15, 2011 the single has sold 3,160,000 copies. The song took 27 weeks to sell 3 million copies. "So What," Pink's only previous 3-million seller, reached that level in 26 weeks. "So What" is up to 4,132,000 in digital sales. Despite the significant airplay it received, "Raise Your Glass" has only reached #13 in the United Kingdom, failing to match the chart performance on the US charts. However, in Australia, "Raise Your Glass" climbed to the top of the ARIA singles chart in 24 hours, it also debuted atop the Polish charts and German airplay charts, just like Pink's six previous singles. Therefore, P!nk breaks the record she had set herself, as the artist with most consecutive number one singles on the chart. In New Zealand, the song peaked at number five on the RIANZ on the singles chart and reached number one on the radio airplay chart. Music video Background The music video for the song began filming on October 4, 2010 and is Pink's twelfth collaboration with Dave Meyers. It is based around one of P!nk's real-life experiences, and features a celebration of gay marriage, expressing her views that people should not feel any differently towards gay marriage than straight marriage. Pink commented on the video in an interview for MTV: "I threw my best friend's wedding in my backyard — she is lesbian and she married her wife, and it was absolutely beautiful. At the end of it, her mom said, 'Why can't this be legal?' and started crying. It was just the most heartbreaking thing I've ever seen, so that's why I'm doing it in my video." Synopsis The music video overall promotes gender, racial, social, sexual orientation, religious, and species equality; with regards to nonhuman animal rights, it tackles specifically bullfighting (with P!nk defending a bull from a matador) and the dairy industry (depicting a calf feeding on human milk). P!nk dons a ski mask (balaclava) and black clothes in some scenes as a reference to the Animal Liberation Front. Scenes from the video also include a skateboarding setting, which is reminiscent of P!nk's debut music video for "There You Go," and a scene in a high school prom where P!nk sniffs under her arm, the same thing she did in the music video for "Get the Party Started." The final scenes show a girl crying during her graduation, a reference to P!nk's success in delivering her message after years since her debut. The video was released on P!nk's official website Tuesday, November 2 at 6PM EST. Live performances and other versions P!nk performed the song live at American Music Awards of 2010 at Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles. A version was performed on the American TV series Glee, in the second season episode "Original Song" released as a single on iTunes in March 2011. It was also covered on the Glee spinoff, The Glee Project, on the season finale, but not released as a single. The top 7 contestants of American Idol sang it during one of the results shows. Lyrics Category:Songs Category:Songs from Greatest Hits... So Far!!! Category:Singles